dike

   To  remove  or  disable  a  portion  of  something,  as a wire from a
   computer  or  a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is "When
   in  doubt,  dike it out". (The implication is that it is usually more
   effective  to attack software problems by reducing complexity than by
   increasing  it.)  The  word  `dikes' is widely used to mean `diagonal
   cutters', a kind of wire cutter. To `dike something out' means to use
   such cutters to remove something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined
   dike  as  "to  attack  with  dikes". Among hackers this term has been
   metaphorically  extended to informational objects such as sections of
   code.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {nuke}]